In May we had the honor presenting at the Leading Age Indiana Conference & Trade Show. Arkos Design Team Darla Aldred, Landscape Architect, PLA, LEED AP, along with our President Jeff Anglemyer, Architect, AIA, spoke on...

The study noted in this article, and published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, is yet another confirmation of how important visual connections to a natural green environment is for us. Even 40 seconds of visual contact can make a difference! Oops, i just gave away the answer... but it's too important to hide!

Sustainable green design has become commonplace in our culture. Many people outside of the design and construction industries understand and embrace these principles. During my architectural career, sustainability has always seemed the responsible practice, but it always left me with a sense of something missing.

I am fortunate to have found a profession that connects people and nature. Landscape+Architecture…simple, right? But that doesn't mean that I actually get to spend a lot of time directly connecting with nature in my daily work. Instead, as with most working professionals, I spend the majority of my day in an office, either at my desk, in a conference room or in front of a computer. Seniors spend more time indoors because access to outdoors becomes more challenging as they age. Children have electronic entertainment keeping them indoors, and many haven’t really learned how to play and enjoy the outdoors. People who grow up in highly urban areas may be afraid of nature. Yet, we inherently know that nature is good for us, we feel it in our bones. It’s been proven with extensive research. We are a part of nature and it’s good for us to interact with it in whatever ways we can, even if it’s a view out a window (more on that later!).